The Head that Wears the Crown
by biscuitwhiskers
Summary: Something rotten is afoot on the planet Vegeta. What should have been a routine mission, becomes something more than what Vegeta originally intended. Get ready for adventure and an abundance of clichés laced with some wholesome action. Vegetasei Au/Canon Divergence.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone. Just a few notes before we begin, I use British spellings, syntax, and punctuation; however, a lot of the dialogue will have a more American tone to it. So with out further ado, please enjoy my first story!_

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Vegeta-sei, the only red planet in its system. Its surface, blanketed in desolate crimson sands and covered in dense jungles of a similar hue. A warrior race inhabited the planet, which had conquered their quadrant of the galaxy with great strength and an unparalleled blood-lust. The Saiyans only bowed in servility to the royal house of planet Vegeta; a great dynasty of ferocity and violence. Many heads had worn the crown, and the kings all had one thing in common; an unyielding sense of pride.

Prince Vegeta gazed upon the landscape before him, letting the sweet air from the morning breeze engulf his senses. He looked down upon the capital city as the red sun rose, rendering the sky a plethora of purple tones and cast a dark shadow upon the mountains. A sense of excitement and dread simultaneously filled his heart, emerging from the thought that one day he would reign over all that lay before him, and so much more. The prince's arms were folded upon his bare chest, his signature scowl was slightly more relaxed in this pensive state. The light curtains upon the balcony entrance billowed in the wind – the flimsy material was all that separated his private chambers from the outside world. His tail twitched between his legs in agitation. He was a being of habit, and his second act of the day would be to check his itinerary, making sure there would be no unexpected events which would disrupt his training. Yet his first act of the day would always be to watch the sunrise and reflect upon his glorious destiny. His eyes glanced towards the boarders of the savage forest regions, the sight evoked memories of his childhood. He would spend days camping in them with his low class companion Raditz, everything had seemed so much larger back then and it aroused a sense of adventure in the boys as they charted the _unknown_. Nappa, the Prince's bodyguard and tutor, now confidant, would always be close by, often falling asleep by a stream. The boys would often hunt down a Chamak beast. The long and arduous act of tracking and outwitting the animal was Vegeta's favourite part, aside from the adrenaline filled frenzy which was subduing it. After a long day or two in the forest, they would return to civilisation covered in scratches, dirt, and blood, offering their prey to Raditz's family upon their return.

The sound of a light groaning coming from his bed broke the spell that nostalgia had wove upon him. He turned to her with a scowl, it was time for him to start his day, that meant there had to be no traces of the night before. She was some third class girl, stationed in the capital – he scoffed as he noticed she had smothered herself in the black covers increasing her comfort as if she was going to stay for any longer.

'Get up,' he growled.

She opened her black eyes and obsequiously leapt up from the bed.

'Leave.'

He did not bother to look in her direction but instead kept his eyes focused upon the scenery.

She bowed with obedience but her eyes rolled once she knew her face was out of sight. It was no secret that the Prince treated everyone equally with such haughtiness, some often speculated that it was a consequence of possessing such a high power level that rendered him untouchable. She hastily picked up her armour and ran towards the nearest door, not hesitating to look over her shoulder. He had no remorse about they way he treated his bedmates, if anything they were using him. Who would not want to have the Prince of all Saiyans as a notch on their bed post? They should be honoured that they were spending time with such an impressive being, a smirk crawled upon his face as he came to this conclusion.

This was his world.

Vegeta marched towards his ornate dresser, and ran his fingers against the carvings of the oval leaves of the Banlor tree. It was a recognisable symbol of power and strength, for the tree towered above all the other flora in the canopy. His quarters were decorated with only the best Vegeta-Sei had to offer. He tossed his armour on the bed, the disturbance of the linen caused the traces of his fleeting encounter embedded in the sheets to abruptly waft into his nose. The Prince grimaced at the stale smell but smirked as he recollected the feeling of his dominance and hedonist pursuits, that were befitting of a Saiyan of his stature. Fully clothed, he reviewed his itinerary flashing upon his pink scouter, sitting upon his ear and before his left eye.

'Father you wished to see me?'

The prince stood with his hands behind his back, his tail now protectively wrapped around his waist. The blazing sun illuminated King Vegeta's private study, bouncing off the freshly polished wooden floors. His back turned against the large tapestries of Saiyan myths that decorated the dark blue walls. The king gazed out of the large arched windows. Vegeta looked as his father's profile, he had inherited his flame like hair, and sharp jaw, yet his father towered above him in height.

The king's voice boomed from across the room, 'If the population of game on this planet were to dwindle, how would you feed your people boy?'

'Simple. Visit a planet under our rule and eat their game, taking everything that we need until the population has become stable.'

The King nodded, ignoring the arrogance that dripped from his son's tone. He decided to fire his second question, and pointed in such a dramatic manner Prince Vegeta had to stifle any hints of his simmering exasperation.

'One of the ambassadors from an ally planet is caught in the act of espionage. What actions do you take?'

Vegeta looked down at his gloved hands and adjusted them nonchalantly – he wanted to make it clear that he was too old for his father's trivial quizzes.

'Kill them, and then purge the planet, taking all its resources.' He was hoping his father was insinuating another mission – he was an easy man to read and through force of habit, his son had discovered that these quick fire questions always related to the subject of the following conversation. His spirits lifted at the hope of carrying out such a destructive errand. The king continued, 'You take a mistress and the queen objects. What do you do ?'

This was a new one. His father latched on to his son's flash of confusion, hoping that he finally might have caught the young Prince in a stalemate when it came to the affairs of the heart. Unfortunately, his son did not have one.

'It is none of the Queen's damn business. I bed whomever I please.'

The king looked upon his hardened expression, walking to the end of the room to sit behind his wrought wooden desk.

'Now, on with the important tasks of today.'

He looked down upon his holographic tablet, his tone soften slightly but maintained an authoritative air.

'I would like you approval on arranging your betrothal to one of the daughters of house Yasai.'

Vegeta snorted, realising that his father had actually alluded to this subject in his morning quiz. The Prince knew taking a queen was part of his royal duties, but he was still apathetic towards it. All he had to do was produce an heir with her. If he despised the wench, he could find console in other women, that is why society had invented concubines.

Seeing his son lost in his thoughts, King Vegeta's voice rang through the air once more, 'Boy this is important! If you have another female in mind then make it clear.'

'Choose an alien for all I care!' Vegeta wore an over embellished look of disdain to emphasize the point.

'That's your problem Vegeta you are a great warrior and stratagesit but a terrible politician!'

His son looked at him in suspicion. The notion of a king acting like a politician (having never met a trustworthy one in his life) seemed like a contradiction to Vegeta.

'The people hold house Yasai in equal regard to house Vegeta- this will be a good match. She shall produce strong offspring.'

Vegeta cringed at the thought of many screaming Saiyan brats running a muck about the palace.

'I trust your judgement father,' he gritted through his teeth.

'Good.' The King sat behind his desk.

'You shall meet her at the moon festival and we will announce the betrothal on the final night.'

He fumbled through his papers on the desk and poised his holographic tablet to the side.

'Now – I'll be sending you on a mission...'

Finally his king was talking in a language he understood, Vegeta's chest swelled at the thought of the sweet taste of raining terror down upon his enemies.

'...to the southern quadrant to deal with a band of pirates who are interrupting our trade routes.'

'A mere group of Pirates. Are you serious?'

Prince Vegeta arched his eyebrow inquisitively his voice laced with his disgust at the thought of he, the self proclaimed _Strongest of all the Saiyans_ would stoop to such a lowly mission deemed basic for a third class.

His father chuckled, a deep noise that echoed off the walls.

'I was confident that was going to be your reaction boy. But appearances can be deceiving.'

His father's lip raised into a smirk as he leaned forward maintaining eye contact with his heir.

'There's something suspicious about these recent attacks and I need someone I can trust'.

Vegeta's curiosity peaked, who on Vegeta-Sei would even fathom betraying their royal family let alone having the gall to undertake such a foolish endeavour. His arms tightened across his chest, under his reign he would see to it that no cracks like this would be conspicuous, he would obliterate them all with one foul swoop of his wrath. His father observed the tension in his son, the lust for dominance and control – he had raised him to be the epitome of a Saiyan warrior; however, was that disposition necessary for a prosperous ruler? The king sighed.

'You will take Raditz and Kakarot with you,' he ordered, his focus returning to his papers.

His son gawked and gestured his right arm forward in pleading, 'Raditz I will allow, but Kakarot no! For the love of the gods, no! They say his idiot mother accidentally dropped a - '

'That is enough boy! You are taking them and that is final. The boy needs more experience in the field to discover his potential.'  
Vegeta snarled and returned his arms to his chest, his tail twitched. Bowing before his king, and with one clean sweep of his blood red cape, he marched out the door. He planned to get in a couple of hours training before leaving for the mission, he was not enthusiastic about being cooped up in the confines of space ship with such company.

Kakarot had found himself a nice high gorge to do that which he loved most: training. He had rendered the once smooth walls jagged and full of pock marks. His ki was tingling all over his body and he was ready to once again unleash his energy upon his imaginary opponent, when suddenly a duffel bag slapped him around the back of the head.

'Hey! Shitstacks!'

Kakarot turned rubbing the nape of his neck, his older brother floated above him at the top of canyon. Raditz always used such a colourful vocabulary to describe his younger sibling that it made Kakarot feel a pang of remorse to be treated in such an uncouth manner by a family member. But being a pacifist and someone who lacked malicious linguistic knowledge to parry, he would just take it on the chin and remember to hit his brother really hard, the next time they sparred.  
Raditz smiled with his toothy grin, 'We've been summoned. We gotta leave now for a mission with Prince Vegeta.'

'Ah really?' Kakarot did not like the abrupt nature of the military – they never appreciated food like he did. Military rations were on the list of his least favourite things and he wanted to fill his belly with his mother's cooking before he left.

'Can't I say goodbye to mom first?' His voice trailed up to his brother, soaked in his naivety.

'No.' Raditz replied bluntly, as his eyebrows arched in annoyance.

'Hurry up, his _highness_ won't like it if we're late.'

The sarcasm in his brother's voice was wasted upon him. Picking up his worn brown bag and adjusting his military grade regulation armour, Kakarot took to the sky, following his brother to the docking bay.

The bay buzzed with the sound of machines and engines. It was a large hanger, Kakarot thought it looked more like a ration box than a building. On the contrary it was one of the most modernised buildings on the planet. It was constructed out of an imported metal, and was a stark contrast to the more traditional buildings of the capital. The brothers walked towards the docking station they had been given in their mission briefing, a small figure clad in a blue battle suit and white armour leaned against the silver frame of the ship. Prince Vegeta peeled his eyes open and glared more surly than usual at the brothers.

'It's about time!'

Raditz grinned secretly knowing that they had irked the Prince by catching him taking a momentary nap. It was no secret that his highness had trouble sleeping, but everyone would always act ignorant to the obvious – lest they desire to be slung in the medical bay. The Prince was far too proud to be seen as anything but a creature of perfection.

'Blame Kakarot your highness,' Raditz spat at his brother, whilst they bowed.

'Whatever, get on the damned ship!' Vegeta shouted turning his back on the two. Raditz swiftly stood upright and eagerly followed Vegeta on board. Kakarot took a small moment to marvel at the ship. He had never been stationed on one so shiny and smooth, all the rust buckets he had seen could not hold a candle to this sleek ship. Although Kakarot could only appreciate it for its appearance, Raditz was intrigued by its potential speed and schematics. Upon entering the vessel Kakarot saw him smoothly rub his had on the control panel and release a drawn out whistle of appreciation.

Vegeta stood behind the brothers scowling, 'Set course for Northern Quadrant area 43'.

His command sliced the ambiance, interrupting the brothers' awe, making them jump slightly. Raditz hung his head in shame, at the thought his Prince had seen him in such a casual manner. Kakarot however, was insouciant as always and wriggled himself into a passenger's seat.

Raditz flipped panels and switches, or that is what kakarott thought he was doing, of course, his brother would argue that it was far more advanced procedure. Vegeta sighed to himself, between the weak Raditz and his fool of a brother, there was not a brain cell between them. The prince was mentally preparing himself for the worst case scenarios orchestrated by their stupidity. He had peculiar feeling bubbling in his gut. A foreboding that this mission would not be uneventful. He furrowed his brow, and was ashamed at himself for surrendering to such superstitious nonsense! His rational mind instantly blamed that disastrous new chef, that was the cause of this, kismet had no part in this. And upon that conclusion, he made a mental note to fire that pathetic excuse for a cook upon his return.

The ship's engines whirled as they smoothly rose into the atmosphere. Kakarot pressed his face to a nearby window, he would never tire of seeing the planet look like a giant swirly marble. Vegeta scoffed at the sight of this childish behaviour, as far as he was concerned the rumours were true; Kakarot's feeble mother had dropped a dense joint of meat on his head, rendering him a complete and utter oaf. Vegeta looked back at the controls and gave a nod to Raditz. A rumbling sound from the engines reached a crescendo as they subsequently made the jump to hyperspace. It was time to begin their mission.


	2. Chapter 2

The ships engines hummed so softly that soon they became undetectable over the sound of Kakarot's snoring. Even with the newly developed hyper-drive, space travel was long and arduous for Saiyans; they craved physical activity. The youngest of the three was nestled in the black headrest of the passenger's seat (respecting his ban from standing within ten feet of the controls); his head tilted in the direction of his brother, who glanced at his sleeping form and let out a small sharp sneer. Raditz envied his sibling's relaxed demeanour, stress and panic were foreign to him. Even though his parents would never admit it, there was always this static in his mind that would crawl upon his idle thoughts, and whisper that Kakarot was the favourite son. The eldest brother leaned back into his chair; his eyes were focused on the ceiling. In an attempt to disregard his insecurities, his attention focused on counting the metallic tiles and illuminated buttons, like a school child who had finished their exam but was not permitted to leave the room until further notice.

Vast galaxies rich in an abundance of colours swirled beyond the cockpit window, Vegeta paid no heed to the beauty that surrounded him. His eyes were fixed upon his holographic tablet, reading documents concerning the ministers' proposals and the current economic state of the provinces with such assiduity. His finger rhythmically taped the arm rest; the monotonous noise annoyed Raditz, yet he was powerless to object and instead tried to count in synchronicity to the beat.

The tranquil boredom was interrupted with a flash of light and a thunderous crash. Those who were not belted in were flung out of their seats, and collided with the space-craft's cold wall. The blazing of the warning siren violently reverberated in their eardrums. Kakarot freed himself without hesitation, and ran towards the sight of his brother using the pilot's chair to stable himself after the fall.

A black tangled mass of hair covered him, some had even fallen in his mouth, he was retching. Vegeta was going to burst with anger, which ingrate would dare to attack his ship? He snapped to his feet, pushing Raditz out of the way with more force than necessary.

'You better be able to tell me what in the name of Vegeta just happened!' The prince demanded with a snarl, dusting himself off as he lunged forward to the control panel.

'It appears we have collided with something-', Raditz paused as his face looked gaunt.'It has breeched our engines'.

Vegeta scowled and leaned in to survey the damage highlighted by the ship's computer. His gloved hands pressed orders into the large blue interactive screen. A holographic map highlighting their current location was displayed. Its blue hue contrasted against the red of the warning sirens and the dim emergency lights. The prince's eyes moved frantically across the map trying to pinpoint a suitable rest spot.

'Land the damn thing now! There's a Saiyan owned Dwarf planet in quadrant N34- take us there immediately!' He pointed, causing the map to glitch from the sharp disturbance.

'Yes sir.'

Vegeta's tail was puffed around his waist. The inkling of self control that remained within him held it firm, and stopped him from beating his pathetic excuse for a squadron. And to top it all off, the blaring sirens of the ship felt like someone had stuck his head in a vice. He turned to the youngest Saiyan, 'Kakarot go turn that noise off now.'

'How?'

Vegeta's face was illuminated by the intermittent flashing lights. It made his scowl all the more sinister, as he screamed in frustration at Kakarot's large naïve eyes.

'Smack the thing!'

The ship landed with awkward thump, the crew all felt the impact in their coccyges. Not a second after they had touched solid ground, the prince pushed a button on his scouter.

'This is prince Vegeta requesting a back up vessel quadrants NQ 34.'

Silence. His teeth clenched in frustration. He repeated the process. The Saiyan empire had recently increased their efforts to ensure communication satellites were spread throughout their annexed quadrants, the Prince had signed off the order himself. It was authorised in order to put a stop to situations like the one he was currently finding himself in. He doubted his future empire would suffer from such a blunder, the logical conclusion: it was his scouter.

'Raditz. Do you have wide area signal?'

'No sir. Only local.'

So it was no fault on his part. Vegeta balled his fists and let out a growl in frustration. How could he be surrounded by such imbeciles! This planet was Saiyan territory thus a satellite should have been in the vicinity. If they remain stranded he was going to personally obliterate the science and communication division for their complete and utter negligence.

He sneered, it had only been five minutes and already his patience had become non-exsitant, and the sound of Kakarott stretching his legs outside was not reviving it by any means.

'Wow the grass is pink here!'

Vegeta shuddered inwardly, the thought of being stranded with these two made him want take the risk and vacate with the malfunctioning vessel.

Raditz heart sank when he turned to inspect the damage on the ship. What was once beautiful and sleek was now battered and defiled. A heavy concoction of guilt and dread sat in his gut, no longer could he see his reflection on the surface of the rear thrusters. The insignia of the Saiyan Empire had too, been scratched on impact of the unknown object. The damage swallowed the side of the ship, he had had a taste of luxury but it seems was forced to spit it out.

Vegeta embarked on the planet, his skin was clammy but he was not sweating like Kakarot, who was already testing the gravity. He glanced at the sight Raditz's pathetic snivelling over the ship. It was time to return to the mission, and that meant getting a new mode of transportation and blasting of this disgustingly coloured ball.

'Let us scout the planet and see if we can locate a satellite,'

Vegeta ordered and ascended into the air, the other Saiyans followed suit.

'No not you Kakarot!' His arms crossed and tone patronising.

The prince looked at the youngest Saiyan directly.

'You stay with the ship!'

'But?'

'Silence!'

Kakarot hung his head in disappointment and slowly hovered in a sulk. He did not appreciate Vegeta's negative outlook, he always though that the guy need to relax more, he would go as far to say the prince was more likely to die of heart attack than on the battle field.

'If we need you we will call you on local line,' Vegeta shouted from afar before they shot off with a trail of glowing ki in their wake.

The two Saiyans were speeding around the dwarf planet, looking at the dearth of signal bars on their scouters. The thick and tepid air caused water droplets to form on their exposed skin, as more ki was having to be expended in order to slice through it.

'Prince Vegeta Sir,' Raditz shouted as they came to a halt.

'How many times do I have to tell you idiot? It's General when we are on missions.' His stern demeanour and gaze was sharp.

Raditz looked surly and swallowed his shame in a small gulp, he had not been on a mission with the Prince in so long, that he had forgotten the safety protocol. Vegeta however, did not care that his presence on a mission could make him a prime target-he revelled in the challenge of whatever his adversaries wanted to throw at him. Nonetheless, he respected the procedure.

'Yes sir.'

'Well what is it?' They both hovered above the dense flora that engulfed the surface like the fur upon their tails. Raditz quickly cleared his throat.

'My scouter has picked up some life forms, too high to be dumb animals but too low to be a threat.'

Their heads turned in the direction of the source. Vegeta sniffed the air, it smelt damp and musty–he did not think it suspicious.

For the second time that day, they were both knocked a couple of inches in the air as vibrations collided with their bodies, the sound of an explosion followed suit mere seconds after. It had come from the east. Without hesitation, the two Saiyans hurtled towards their target.

The ground was charred the odour of burnt metal and earth hit them as it danced in the wind. In the epicentre of the blackened earth, lay a contorted and unsightly hunk of metal and wires, a stark contrast to the delicate pink landscape.

They kept a reasonable distance away from mess, the air reeked.

'You're damn lucky we haven't destroyed-' A bald bi-ped clad in orange froze before the Saiyans. He scratched his head in bemusement, his eyes wide with fear and he began to whisper.

'Bulma … Bulmmaaaaa,' he drawled on the syllable.

'We have company.'

Raditz smirked as his screen displayed the weak power level of the alien, and he decided to inspect the mysterious object. Vegeta turned to him, 'Calibrate your scouter to their language!'

Raditz waved him off as he hovered towards the wreckage, 'Already have, heard the same tongue a couple of years back.'

Vegeta inspected the alien from his vantage point, it was very similar in appearance to a Saiyan; he presumed it to be male and as hairless as Nappa, minus the unsightly moustache. The being seemed to take some kind of a defensive stance. The Prince scoffed at the ridiculous notion that he would pose challenge. A morbid curiosity emerged from inside him, whether or not, he would enjoy torturing such a weak insect. It reminded him of some of the Elders' wives, attending court with small beasts floundering in their arms. Nappa once said that they used them to compensate for their now barren wombs. Those pets could easily best this miserable excuse for a fighter. Vegeta devilishly concluded that, that actually might serve as fitting entertainment.

Krillan gulped. His mouth was dry and his tongue felt like it had doubled in size as he looked upon the imposing figures. He was unaware of what these aliens wanted, but he had a good feeling that _peace_ was not on the agenda. He instantly sensed he was outnumbered and outmatched. It did not matter how much money the heiress had, he should have never gone into space.

'Bulllmaaa,' he repeated.

Vegeta thought to himself with a hard scowl as to what is a "Bulma"?

'Hey bub! Hands off the generator!'

A woman came bounding through the vegetation towards them. She had been working on that project for months and this was her first trip to outer space. So no alien poking it with a stick was going to ruin it, that was for sure.

She held her head high, standing beside Krillin and eyed the Saiyans with a haughty curl on her lips.

The monk leaned in beside her, shading his mouth with his hand, 'Bulma, don't provoke them.'

Her ego did not understand the severity of the situation; this would not be the first time.

Raditz looked up at the second alien joining the small bald one, her power level was far more insignificant. He smirked at Vegeta and continued to inspect the machinery.

'Hey bub I warned you! Don't you dare touch that!'

Her threats fell on deaf ears.

'Don't make me hurt you!' She screamed, and clumsily grabbed a gun from the holster upon her back. Vegeta winced at the shrillness of her voice, if she had ki it would be lethal. He looked down at her hair which contrasted with the natural colours of the planet; terrible camouflage. The weapon she carried was as large as her, and she feebly needed two arms to hold it.

Beads of sweat were running off Krillin's forehead, Bulma's brashness was going to be the death of them. He was trying to form a plan of escape in his head–perhaps distracting them in some manner with a Solar Flare.

Raditz laughed at the woman's idle threats and pushed his hand into the chard remains and pulled out a large metal orb. The humans watched as the Capsule Corp. logo was juggled in front of them. Bulma saw red, and began flicking switches on her weapon, her scowl fixed on her target. Vegeta's ears pricked at the high frequency hum it produced, his curiosity peaked and his eyes were locked upon her nimble fingers.

'Bulma they have tails .. taiiiils,' Krillin warned. For a genius she could behave awfully foolish at times.

Her red lips lifted into a smirk, radiating her confidence as another small buzz was emitted from her weapon. A large blast of blue light shot out of her gun. Raditz went hurtling to the other side of the field. It was Vegeta's turn to smile, the sight of Raditz's incapacitated body lying amongst the scrap from the technology of a mere woman. How pathetic.

Bulma shoved her hand into her pocket. She was in charge here, and she had the deed to prove it.

'This planet: "Candyfloss Dreamland" belongs to capsule corporation.' She pointed aggressively at the piece of paper, her yellow gillet squeaked as her arm rubbed against it.

'It's mine! So leave now.'

Krillin's soul had left his body, he was as white as fresh Mount Poazu snow. Did Bulma really think he could handle these guys? He looked at Raditz dusting himself of with a sneer that rippled his flat nose. They were doomed. He had died once, he wasn't looking forward to meeting Yemma again.

Then suddenly a voice boomed from the sky, 'Stand down Raditz.'

Vegeta had enjoyed the woman's little display, but the novelty had worn off as soon as she started barking orders. It was time to put her in her place.

Looking at her smug face with the feeble piece of paper in her hand was the most hilarious thing, he might even dare say it was adorable. He strode over to her, it was his turn to smirk as he pointed his finger releasing a tiny ball of key. The paper burst into flames. Bulma's arm jolted back, dropping the remains of the deed, waving her hands checking for burns.

'You Jerk! Who do you think you are?'

Oh Prince Vegeta knew who he was. She grabbed her gun.

'If you think you can threaten me with that little toy, then I will incinerate you and the bald one here, before you can scream.'

Bulma looked at the man. His dark eyes pierced her with their gaze, he had a menacing aura and she finally felt what Krillin had been insinuating this whole time.

Bulma blinked in realisation. This guy meant serious business, and it was too late to flirt her way out of this. Time to fain innocence.

'What gun? What are you talking about?' Her nervous chuckle, was stuck in the top of her throat as she hastily tossed her gun over her shoulder. Secretly praising herself for her rapid initiative.

Their eyes met, and for that second Bulma became aware that she was being intimated by someone of the same height, if not for his strange gravity defying hair. She saw her reflection in his black eyes, an abyss; he was dangerous.

A long arm came swooping from behind her a lifted her in the air by the collar.

'What do you want to do with them?' Raditz seethed covered in ash and dirt.

'Let's take 'em prisoner make 'em our slaves,' he continued with a toothy grin as he peered forward into Bulma's face.

'Where do you come from?' Vegeta asked with his hands upon his hips, his gaze flicked between Bulma and Krillin dangling in the air.

Before they could answer, Raditz interrupted, 'Some back water planet, it's probably of no concern.'

'Quiet!'

Vegeta continued, 'I want to know where the beings who believe they can undermine the Saiyan Empire originate.'

He truly was curious as to where she had procured such a weapon that had slipped under the Empire's radar. Perhaps it may be of some use, or perhaps the source should be quelled.

'Earth' Bulma whispered. Krillin looked upon her with understanding eyes, of course they had just signed the death warrant upon their entire planet, but who wanted to die at the hands of the Saiyans. He had run out of his opportunities on the _deus ex_ dragonballs.

Vegeta adjusted his gloves and pulling them tighter, raising his hand as his fingers flexed into the mould.

'If these Earth-ians-

'Earthlings' Bulma corrected with an earnest smile upon her face. She heard an exasperated groan from not only Krillin but also the brute above her. What everyone said was true: she really did not know when to quit.

'I don't care what you are! be quiet!' Vegeta stiffened in annoyance and cleared his throat.

'If these "Earthlings" think they are so powerful, that they believe themselves important enough to participate in the trading of dwarf-planets, then why don't we pay them a little visit.'

The earthlings both swallowed in fear, as if they were finally choking on the reality of the threat had became all apparent. The murder party was going to travel to them. She was definitely not going to be in Kami's good books.

'You don't want to go to Earth, you'll hate it! Lava everywhere. Food is terrible!' She laughed awkwardly as Raditz jilted her in a futile attempt to silence her.

'Sir with all due respect, shouldn't we continue our mission?'

He pleaded in his native tongue.

Bulma took this opportunity to muster the courage she had left, she was a desperate woman she had to try everything, no harm in that she concluded.

'You can't do this! I'm calling the galactic patrol!' She yelped, waving her arms and legs.

A strong swelling feeling was aroused in Vegeta's stomach. He began to twitch, for all of his attempts to withhold his laughter had been in vain. The woman had just told his favourite joke.

As he wiped the tears from his eyes, it was certain that he was finding this little outing quite entertaining; albeit he would have preferred to be incinerating and tearing pirates limb from limb. And no skirmish could possibly outrank the time he beat a sad excuse for an assassin to a bloody pulp, returning him to his sender. Still, he was entertained by this farce unfurling before him.

Raditz's top lip curved in confusion upon the sight of his Prince's tail becoming slightly relaxed around his waist. It was out of the ordinary. Bulma's eyes followed suit.

'Does he normally just switch off like that?' Her voice hummed in a quick whisper. She knew little about these aliens, but already she had gathered that _space-fabio_ here followed _shorty's_ orders. Raditz tilted his head to the side, it reminded her of a puppy.  
'No,' his voice trailed off.

Vegeta turned to them with a grin that filled everyone's stomach with uneasiness. It looked small and sharp, revealing one of his canines. If it were not so sinister, Bulma would have sworn he looked like a boy at Christmas, opening his presents early. Her assumption was not false, Vegeta was stirred with excitement, it felt like a millennia since he had conquered a planet. He found the woman's squirming endearing and he wanted to see more of it.

Vegeta pushed on his scouter, 'Kakarot get here now!'

There was a sudden flash of confusion in the humans' eyes when Kakarot emerged from over the pink horizon. Bulma shot a quick glance to her friend with raised eyebrows, their faces returning to a neutral expression mere seconds after.

The youngest Saiyan landed softly on the ground, surveyed the situation, looking at the Earthlings dangled like coats in his brother's arms.

'Well I'm glad we're getting to know the locals,' he chuckled, scratching his thick rebellious black hair. He was met with silence.

'Kakarot escort these creatures back to "Eeaarth" and send me the coordinates. The blue haired harpy was hilarious'. Vegeta ordered, flashing Bulma that same arrogant smile. She scowled, wanting to scream at him, but refused to give him the benefit of the doubt. She turned away, and let out a squeak of disdain highlighting her self bestowed superiority.

Kararot placed his right fist in the centre of his chest and nodded, 'Yes Sir General.'

Raditz dropped them with a thud, disturbing the ground. Krillin soothed his flank, he sensed that was going leave one hell of a bruise. Looking at her friend, Bulma was fuming, how dare she be treated with such impertinence.

'Owh! You brute!' she squealed, kicking her feet amongst the rose coloured dust.

Vegeta let out a sharp laugh, this woman does not miss a trick he sarcastically thought.

She continued her disrespect, sticking out her tongue. Before Raditz could interject, to his surprise his brother pushed him away. All thoughts of chastising the woman were suddenly diminish, when his brother started doing something odd. Well odd for him.

He pulled the earthlings onto their feet, and ignited a tiny ball of Ki in his outstretched palm. He tried to sound menacing,'Get on the ship you smelly aliens.'

He began robotically marching, behind them leaving Raditz and Vegeta in pure bewilderment.

'Take me to your stinky planet, you er-you dummies!' He continued peppering his taunts with various grunts and growls.

The two humans to place their hands above their head

'Don't hurt us!' They whelped, scurrying as Kakarot momentarily picked up Bulma's gun and followed them.

Vegeta and Raditz mouths hung upon at the sight of this display, the watched their teammate continue to awkwardly march into a large spherical ship.

'What the hell was that about?' Muttered Raditz, as a ball of hope emerged in his mind that perhaps his brother was finally, in his own haphazard way, catching on to the Saiyan way.


	3. Chapter 3

The concave door of RV. Capsule Corp 2 closed with a firm clatter as all natural light was extinguished. A unanimous sigh of relief from the occupants echoed off the ships metallic walls. Bulma slouched in the nearest seat like a rag doll and laid her hand over her weary eyes, the stress of the situation had finally burdened her body. She wanted to head back to Earth for a warm bath, her mother's strawberry cheesecake, and to surround herself with all things familiar.

'Wow Goku! You're a better actor than Barry Kahn!' Krilin giggled, lying on the floor. He, too, appeared exhausted, but now with having the security of his best friend nearby, it seemed like his worries had evaporated from his pores.

Goku chuckled as a slight blush crept across his cheeks, 'Well perhaps I'm in the wrong job.' His tail unwound and relaxed upon the steel tiles.

The monk sat up to face his friend, 'Yeah how d'you put up with those guys? They seemed like real nasty pieces of work!'

'Ah they're not that bad once you get to know them,' the Saiyan flapped his hand in appeasement. 'And speaking of pieces of work...Where did you get this gun from Bulma?' He looked at his oldest friend and threw the weapon in her direction, as if it were a tennis ball. The woman's arms flailed awkwardly as she caught it with a thump.

'Be careful! That's delicate!' She chided. 'And anyway I built it! What if that loon Piccolo Jr. wants to take over the world again while you're out playing Saiyan huh'? Who's gonna defend us? Yajiriobe? Please!' She scoffed, whipping her head dramatically and elevating her small nose in the air. A behaviour which was a direct consequence of her wealth and social prowess. Most would perceive it as impolite; but to her friends it was an beacon of security: for everything was as it should be; Bulma had returned upon her high horse.

'Ah you know that wouldn't happen! And anyway my son is around if you need any help.' He replied in earnest.

'Goku your son is four.' Krillin interjected with a raised brow.

'Yeah and he's so strong and capable. Boy do they grow up fast!'

Bulma sighed. Ever since she had met him all those years ago, the Saiyan had always been such a ball of positivity, he was so lucky. A bit ridiculous at times, but she always thought the world needed more dreamers like him. They pushed engineers like her to materialise fantasy into reality. She looked at her control panel, they had more than enough fuel to get them home. It was time to go and put this little misadventure behind them.

'Ok guys.' She sung with a joyful tone, smiling from ear to ear, as she booted up the ship and gripped the wheel firmly.

The sound of the boys cheers were heard loud and clear from behind her. Krillin turned to Goku as the engines started to rattle and the ground began to shake.

'You won't get in trouble for this?'

'Nah. I'll just get Bulma to alter the records again and give me another holiday- Chi-chi will like an unexpected visit.'

Bulma thought about how Goku's wife would be delighted at the sight of him. The mental image of her waiting for him outside their mountain top home, resembled the cover of a cheesy pastoral romance novel that she had read in her teens. She had always admired how Chi-chi could remain so steadfast and loyal, whilst her husband gallivanted around taking on missions to improve his training. Bulma wondered how she would cope in a long distance relationship, would she be as resilient as Chi-chi or crumble under the strain of being separated? When he had first joined the Saiyan Army, Goku gave Bulma his scouter. After stating her concern, he simply shrugged it off in a blasé manner, joking and smiling. Bulma never enquired as to the repercussions of his actions, and after he sent her a video message, sporting a black eye -she did not want to know. But by handing her the device Goku had granted Bulma direct access to all the Saiyan schedules, databases, and archives. She could manipulate, add, and erase whatever she wanted. Goku had given her the key, knowing she was the best person to open the door. A strategical move he used to his advantage; extra holidays, the non-lethal missions, ones that happen to be in Earth's sector, removing the tracer from his space-pod. The Saiyan was far more intelligent than what people assumed.

Bulma's fingers were pulsing all other the wheel in a sporadic fashion. She was teeming with excitement upon hearing the ships engines purring, as they steadily began to reach maximum potential. They were going to be out of the woods.

Suddenly, a faint beeping noise from Goku's scouter pierced the pleasant ambiance.

'Oh wait. I have to take this.' He smiled.

The humans watched the Saiyan. When he nodded, the spikes of his hair comically bounced. He affirmed something and hastily hung up. A wide toothy smile was plastered on his face, whilst he scratched the back of his head. Bulma knew that look, she had seen it many times when he was a child; it was a look that said _I've done something sneaky and you are not going to like it_.

She leaned forwards in her chair and looked at him inquisitively, her eyes bored into his, as her hands rested on her hips. The fact he was a man now was irrelevant, he would always crack under this look.

He giggled awkwardly, 'Well … we have company.'

'What?' She blurted. Krillin's eyes bulged too.

Suddenly there was a banging on the ship's door.

'Open up Kakarot!' A familiar voice shouted, it was his brother.

'Ok guys there's something I have to tell you about - ' he whispered in panic.

'Kakarot!'

'Coming.'

'Bulma open it.' The words hissed through his teeth, his arms were held in front of him. The material of his black body suit made a light rustle, rubbing against his armour.

'No! Are you crazy?' She chided, subconsciously moving her hand over the door control in order to protect it from Goku.

'Bulma you have to do it!' He pleaded. 'The short guy -'

The thumping upon the door was even louder.

'Kakarot!' This time the voice belonged to Prince Vegeta. Bulma heard it too and flung herself over the control panel. Those creeps were not coming in, not when they were so close. Her combat boots squeaked upon the surface as she awkwardly tried to set up her defence. But to her chagrin it was insipid, Goku swiftly lifted her with one arm and pushed it.

'Sorry.' He whispered.

'Goku, I'm going to tell Chi-chi about the time you forgot her birthday!'

He smiled 'Yeah. I deserve that.' He knew he did. Yet he would rather endure the deadly temper of his wife, than live with the guilt of letting his friends come to harm. As long as he was there, they would be guaranteed protection.

The pistons exhaled as the ramp opened slowly, revealing two intimidating silhouettes that sliced through the pink hue of the dwarf planet.

'We weren't going to let you be the only one to get off this damp shit hole.' Raditz sneered to his brother as he walked up the ramp, dumping the duffel bags on the floor next to Krillin. Vegeta hung back, and looked at the vessel, it was a heap of junk. It looked like nothing had been polished, there was dirt on the floor that lead to what looked like a scientist's work bench. Vials and pieces of circuit boards were amongst a myriad of papers, creating a melange of disorder. To his right he could see oil leaking from the pistons, and slowly trickling down. The mere existence of the dirt and mess forced him to advert his eyes, and his body began to stiffen. Was that bags of detritus in the corner? He dared not look, as he wanted to cringe. He had never felt so uncomfortable in his life. The sooner this mission was over, the sooner he could return to his immaculate palace.

'Raditz, take control of the ship.' Vegeta ordered in his native tongue. Goku turned to Bulma, his face looked worried as she realised the Saiyan was coming over, they had to keep this act up. Goku placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Get off me you... you bad person,' she screamed. Reflecting upon her and her friends' previous performances, it was without a doubt, that she would be enrolling them all in acting classes when they return to Earth. She was still convinced that this fiasco was going to dissipate like heat from a engine upon its exposure to the colder surrounding air. But when she saw their bags and heard the door close, she questioned her delusion.

Raditz shimmed over to the control panel. Never had he seen another like it. The control panel had a screen but he could not decipher what it was displaying, there were various levers (one was clumsily fixed in a position with silver tape), and there was a rainbow of flashing lights. It was all alien to him. His tail tightened around his waist, he was going to have to admit defeat, this mission was making a mockery of him. Everything Vegeta had said to him, since they were cubs was true, he was a failure like his mother. The long haired Saiyan turned to the Prince who knew that look, and he hated it. Vegeta let out a low growl, baring one of his sharp canine teeth. Where was this lowly excuse for a Saiyan's pride? How dare he not be able to pilot a space craft of a primitive species, and then he said the words that made Vegeta disgusted.

'I can't do it.'

'You push buttons you imbecile.' Vegeta muttered, he walked towards the panel as Raditz moved to the side. A turquoise button caught his eye and he went to push it.

Bulma was watching every movement and gesture. She realised she needed to make Kirllin and herself look indispensable. That's how their lives would be saved without blowing Goku's cover. She had to take control, the duct tape caught her eye, the Saiyans were on her turf now. She raised her head, she would demand their respect.

'Don't you dare touch that! You'll blow us up to smithereens.' She cried over emphasising her struggle from her friend's grip.

'Kakarot did I give the prisoner permission to speak?'

'No s-'

She interrupted the Saiyans with a voice laced with authority, 'Look buster! I designed and built this ship! You want off this planet and I happen to be the only one with a ship. Now if you shut up and let me drive! Then we'll all be happy.'

Vegeta snarled and sharply turned his back towards her. He folded his arms, he abhorred her manner of addressing him, yet she had him at a stalemate. He promised himself that he would make her suffer the consequences for her audacity once he could contact the Saiyan fleet. He would not be bested by an unruly woman, he refused to let her gain the upper hand.

'Earthlings you will report to Kakarot or Raditz- you will refer to me as General Daiko. You will not speak directly to me. You two will provide them with the quadrants so we can further the progress of this mission without accumulating any more tailless vermin'.

'O'h and you built this?' He looked directly at Bulma. 'That explains why it's a worthless piece of excrement.' Vegeta smiled to himself. A wave a pure satisfaction smoothly washed over him, as the feeling of anger radiating off her only fuelled his ego.

During her formative years Bulma was the ideal student, she was well behaved, top of her class and had a penchant for doing more than what was recommended. However in her academic reports there was one incident that sullied her perfect record. The note from the teacher merely stated "kicked another pupil in the shin". When asked to justify her behaviour, to what looked like a room full of intimidating adults. She responded passionately, pudgy hands on her hips aping a business woman from a film that was still fresh in her juvenile mind,'he made fun of me 'cos I'm smart!'

From that day forth Bulma was privately tutored from within the Capsule Corp grounds, away from the other children. Any temptation for her foot to come into contact with someone else's shin was non-existent; until this day with the Saiyans. She had certainly had her far share of conniving and facetious Entrepreneurs, but they could never pierce her armour. Her fists were tense with anger, she began to shake with the feeling pulsing from within her. She was going to force feed him a slice of pie, not just a slice, this guy needed a delivery van load of humble pies. A tirade of insults sat behind her pretty pink lips, ready to be released in a fit of unadulterated rage.

Until Goku's hand covered her mouth like a concrete dam.

Vegeta looked over his shoulder at the muzzled woman, and smirked.

She scowled, swallowed and exhaled as if to bury her indignation in the far reaches of her soul, (for the time being). She reminded herself that revenge is a dish best served diabolic and pink.

A silence shrouded in malaise filled the main chamber of the ship, but there was a sliver of relief in the wake of Vegeta's departure. Goku displayed the new quadrants on his scouter, as Bulma huffed in rhythm with her fingers meticulously inputting the data. The ship teetered as the engines wheezed like a geriatric asthmatic, and the toil soon subsided once they left the planet's atmosphere. From the main window Bulma's candyfloss dreamland dangled in space like a small pink pearl. She turned in her pilot's chair, and unconsciously twisted her earring in-between her thumb and forefinger as she looked to Krillin on her left. They looked so small in comparison to Goku and Raditz, who were slightly hunched over in the largest part of the ship. If it was not such a tense situation, it was almost comical that they were squashed like body builders in a lift. Her eyes wandered over Raditz's arms, he looked so masculine and savage. She had always had a weakness for the archetypical 'bad boy' and incredibly chiselled men. She did not spend three nights a week in leg warmers bopping to the oldies at Rick Slimmon's gym, just to date someone out of shape. A guy who looked after himself was a dish, she had eaten plenty of dishes so far but none had satisfied her as of yet. She shook her head in realisation, breaking her chain of thought that now was not the time to be sizing up for a potential Saiyan bed buddy.

Raditz cleared his throat, and peered at Krillin dwarfed by the co-pilot's chair 'What can you do?'

'Me?'

'If you're useless we could always eat you.' Raditz smiled.

For a brief moment Krillin was relived that his presence had been over looked by the Saiyans. They were instead focused upon their attempts to assuage their leader and the entertainment he provided with Bulma took centre stage. He wanted to return to being ignored, as the mental image of Raditz licking his lips at him would haunt him for eternity.

'He's a genius too- I need him to help me, fountain of wisdom... ' Bulma interjected as she elbowed him in the side.

'Yeah erm' his mind raced with idioms. ' _The habit does not maketh a monk_ , erm _All the world's a stage_... _you can't_ – damn erm what was it? _You can't have your apple a day_!' He chuckled nervously as Raditz stared on in bemusement. The room erupted with the sound of Goku's laughter.

'Such sage advice.' He panted between giggles as his brother snarled at him.

Whilst everyone's attention laid with Goku's display of joy, a small blue button glittered in the corner of Bulma's eye. She focused upon it, and knew exactly what it meant. A grin that would paralyse the devil himself, flashed upon her face. A certain someone was in the shower.

Vegeta finally felt it; tranquillity. Alone with his thoughts, he was finally spending time with someone he found agreeable. In the Prince's opinion, to clean oneself was the most therapeutic of acts. Upon searching the ship, his eye would wander to filth, emphasize it until it was all he could focus on. He wondered how barbaric and uncivilized were these creatures? The sleeping chamber he stumbled upon was covered in papers scrawled upon and discarded small thin metal drinks receptacles. His teeth clenched and his muscles tightened at the idea of merely sleeping in such a place. True contentment finally swept over him upon finding the adjacent wash room. A sigh of relief flowed out of his mouth like freshly spun silk, as fragile as the condensation mark it had left behind. He could remove the traces of this mission from his skin for a moment, he was liberated. His thoughts rushed around his frustration that his father forced him on such a trivial errand. He should be increasing his power and ascending to the legendary form. He snarled as his slapped his hand on the wet wall, the cold tile cracked under his force. He was the Heir Apparent, the one to lead the Empire into the new age, to render the common masses into abject fidelity and servitude. He was alone in his ambitious thoughts, his mental visualisations were like a state of meditation, the rhythmic sound and warmth of the water were a shield to the inevitable reality that he would have to return to this mission.

He was jolted out of his relaxation when the water scorched him. He tried to avoid extraneous burning spray, hitting his head against the plastic door in the process. The dial had not been altered by his hand, he reached to end the heat. Cold . It was so cold. He huddled inwardly, the hairs on his tail were standing on end. He looked directly at the shower handle. Pink frothy bubbles started squirting at him – it was an obstruction on his sensitive nose. Then searing pain came from his eyes, he closed them shut. He had to get out, smashing the door in the process. Bubbles and suds surrounded him, as he came in to contact with the wash room furniture. He fumbled in vain, searching for a drying cloth. For a moment he was no longer the graceful Prince, and had been reduced to a clumsy oaf. There was no doubt; the woman was behind this. She dared make a fool of him. His tail was vertical and puffed, his white teeth bared.  
'Is it too much to ask for the servility of lesser beings?' He spat. She was going to taste his royal fury.

'Earth woman!' the shout was aggressive and from the gutter of his throat. Raditz raised his head in concern. He knew this tone and blood always followed it. Goku's shoulders broadened as he crossed the snarling prince. But in Vegeta's blind rage the only colour he could see was blue.

'You pathetic wretch. How dare you!'

'General?' She turned to him in the pilot's chair a small blue eyebrow was raised.

'Your little act in the shower.' Small pink suds wafted off his body, with every dramatic hand gesture. They delicately landed on Krillin's head.

'General. I've been here the whole time.' Her hand swept towards the other occupants in the ship.

'You lie! You have control over that shower!'  
'No General you obviously don't know how to operate it.'

'You wretch! I should blast you to oblivion!'

'Then who would steer the ship? Get you to your precious mission?'

'I will! It can't be that hard if a dumb animal like you can do it!'

'You jerk! You blast me and I will push the self destruct! You're powerful but you can't survive in a vacuum- just like a dumb animal.'

Stale mate. A growl formed in Vegeta chest, his tail puffed and tightened around his waist.

He felt Bulma's eyes move across his body, the damned woman was sizing him up.

He was suddenly aware of his audience. His pride would not let them think he had been bested.

'Kakarot you will watch her! She will not breath without your permission! I don't trust these creatures' He cast his eyes quickly at Bulma before he closed it again.  
Yes Kakarot will be perfect for this job! He thought to himself. In Vegeta's opinion Raditz was just as feeble minded but had a weakness for young attractive women. The coy little harpy would have him wrapped around her weak alien finger. He was convinced of Kakarot's loyalty and lack of libido.

'Go about business.' He declared marching out of the communal space. The metallic floor echoed with his steps, as Bulma caught site of his muscles moving in his back.  
Once again he was alone, his thoughts turned to the pugnacious woman had dared to challenge him. It was then that Vegeta rubbed his red eyes and decided that he would make an example of her. It had worked in his youth. Raditz had served as a reminder to the others at the royal academy. The third class had dared burst into the dorm room forgetting his place and having the guile to disrupt his sleep, rabbiting on about his long lost brother. So that night Vegeta beat him in courtyard, making sure a certain special someone was there. The girl to whom Raditz had pathetically been scenting. The way her black eyes closed in disgust at the bloody heap that was Raditz. She even sneaked into the boys dorm to congratulate Vegeta on her knees. She was Vegeta's first; he did not much care for her. But he certainly cared to ensure the rumour of their coupling reached Raditz. It sent the message loud and clear. It seemed that the universe did not learn and now, this woman would have to be schooled. He would render her servile and obedient, without violence but with wit and cunning; it would make him the ultimate strategist. He was determined to assault her with his tongue. She would bow before him, or so help her and her entire planet, once she was no longer of use.

He smirked. The game was now in play.

* * *

Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the long update. I started a new job which I thought was going to give me more free time and well it had the opposite effect. I apologise for any major mistakes in this chapter, I just wanted it uploaded - I am currently on the hunt for a Beta reader though.

Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story so far.


	4. Chapter 4

Goku's eyes followed a pipe framing the ceiling, concentrating on the smooth piece of plumbing helped him amass his thoughts. He was regretting his decision to merge these two parties together. At the time it appeared to be the safest option, but after witnessing the volatile reaction between Bulma and the Prince, it had him questioning his judge of character. Did he just keep the company of augmentative people? He glanced at his brother slumped in a passengers seat, who had taken off his breast plate in a vain attempt to find comfort. Then at Krillin, who met his inquisitive gaze with suspicion. Goku shook his head, those two were just as different as Bulma was to Vegeta. However Radtiz's hands were still yet to come into contact with Krillin's neck. And then like a cuckoo clock chime, he realised that perhaps it was not because they were different, but because they were similar. _Likeness doesn't always breed friendship_ he concluded, and proceeded to congratulate himself on such a great line, he would definitely have to pass that one on to Krillin.

But like the pipe, as it began to meander down the communal space, his thoughts then turned to a more serious note. Would Bulma's petty behaviour put everyone jeopardy? He hoped not. Perhaps if they had met at different time, a nice social gathering at Capsule Corp. headquarters with a big buffet, then everyone would have been the best of friends. Goku was convinced that there was no problem breaking bread could not solve. Nonetheless he chuckled under his breath, as he realised that even with a flurry of _hors d'oeuvres_ (or as Goku called them _hoity mini snacks_ ), Bulma and Prince Vegeta probably still would have acted like this.

When his gaze finally reached the end of the pipe that disappeared through the partition wall, Goku reached his conclusion; Bulma had to know the truth, it was the only way the insure their safety. He was confident the proverbial coast was clear, the playing card in his large hand was bending slightly, Vegeta's ki had not moved from the upstairs chambers for a while.  
'Snap!' He shouted placing his card on top of the pile. Krillin let out a sigh of annoyance and began to reshuffle the deck. The Saiyan saw this as his opportunity, he leaned over to Bulma in the cockpit section, his voice a whisper, nothing was going to interrupt him this time.  
'Bulma you should be more careful with what you say to the General. There's something I have to tell you about -.'

Her palm separated them, 'I think I can handle him. He's a spoiled man-child. That's what happens when you have a terrible class system.' She chimed.  
Goku rolled his eyes, and rested his elbow on the black leather pilot's chair. He would not claim the Saiyan system was perfect, but neither was Earth's. Chi-chi had spent years campaigning for better schools and sewage systems in the Paozu area.

'No Bulma you don't understand. I really have to tell you about who he -.' The youngest Saiyan suddenly froze as the automatic doors opened.  
Unaware, she turned to him with an annoyed grunt. She did not want any disturbances whilst she was trying to re-calibrate the engines to support such a detour.

'Fine! Just spit it out G-' Her mouth snapped shut upon seeing the General standing above her, with his rigid posture and folded arms.

'G-Kakarott- about the upgrades to the ship.' She hastily finished.

'Getting friendly are we Kakarot?' Vegeta tilted his head up and squinted at the youngest Saiyan and then at the women.

'No Sir. Bulma is showing me her other feats of engineering. Inventions that could really help the Empire.'  
Vegeta let out a suspicious hum. 'I truly doubt that', he muttered.  
Bulma rose out of her chair, imitating his defensive stance. 'I'm the best of the best. Your Empire would be lucky to have me as an ally.'

Krillin watched as Goku awkwardly stepped between them; an image of a man ardently whipping a deceased equine was aroused in the monk's mind.  
'Sir what are your orders?' Many years of marriage had rendered Goku a master of changing the subject.

Vegeta turned his back to the youngest member, crossing into the communal area, he stared down at Raditz. The Prince awoke his subordinate with a kick between his ribs. He was winded on impact and gasping for breath. Goku turned to his friends, slowly waving his hand in a calming gesture, mouthing _he's fine_. Vegeta, who continued to focus on Raditz, as if his pain was unlocking an enigma, composed himself and continued his conversation with Kakarot.

'Well, If you had been paying attention instead of fraternizing with the captives.'  
Bulma's yelp of ire was heard in the background and Vegeta secretly paid it heed; it gave him a strange feeling similar to besting someone combat, and continued to speak.'My scouter has indicated we will be at the vessel in T-minus ten galactic minutes.'

Bulma looked out the cockpit window with curiosity. Unlike Capsule Corp. vessels that were spherical, she could only liken the shape of this vessel to a shaving razor. She presumed the curve of the hull was to slice through the vast vacuum of space. There was a divide between the large stem of the ship and the outer frame that connected it together. Small exhaust ports and various designs of engineering to which she was unaccustomed, lined the gap; this had to be the propulsion mechanism, she concluded. What she would not give too see this piece of machinery in action. But to her disappointment, the ship was floating there lifeless, like a drowned cadaver washed up with the tide. It was surrounded by an ethereal haze of light. She peered and tilted her head closer to the window, trying to find the particles on the ship, that were slowly moving due to the gravitational pull of a nearby celestial body. The vessel was covered in slight damage and scorch marks, some seemed to be quite old, mere aesthetic damage.  
The Earth woman sucked in her breath, as she began to pilot C.C.2 manually, edging it closer like a claw machine at the fun fair. Raditz, now fully dressed, loomed over her, giving her strict instructions as to where to dock.  
'It seems that the artificial oxygen and gravity are being are being supplied by the reserve power.' His gaze was firmly fixed upon the viewing window.  
There was a firm clunk. As the pistons and valves started to create a seal between the two ships.

'Prepare to board weaklings!'. Vegeta barked as the two Saiyans hurried towards the main door of the ship.

Bulma rearranged her black hairband. The Prince turned and watched her blue hair cascade around her shoulders.  
'So .. I take it you want us to the stay with the ship.' She smiled, leaning atop of Krillin's shiny head.

The woman's attempt at guile infuriated him. 'No! you're coming with us. I would not trust you if you were the goddess incarnate!'  
She arched a brow, and had a sudden curiosity to see a depiction of the Saiyan Goddess.

'Fine.' She muttered and tossed her gun on to her back.  
'Oh no woman- By order of the Saiyan Empire, you are forbidden to carry that weapon. Give it to me.' He waited with his palm open and empty.  
The remaining passengers aboard the ship turned to see her response.  
'No-'  
Vegeta began to growl.

'Jeez Bulma, just do as he says. Then we can go home.' Krillin interjected, slouching his shoulders forwards.  
The Prince waited for a single word to pass her pink lips, but she remained silent and thrust the gun into his hands.

'The small one is wise.' He smirked, and looked on at her blank expression. It felt like a insipid victory.  
He tightened his fist around the weapon; it turned to shrapnel between his fingers.

'You bastard!' she shouted. The sound of his laughter echoed of the walls. Radtiz spied it with suspicion.  
As abruptly as the laughter began, it was suddenly silenced. Vegeta scowled. His inner voice was chiding himself, laughter was not the traits of the ruthless warrior elite.  
'As soon as we return to the next Saiyan base, you will immediately hand over the blueprints to this weapon. Or I will vaporise the bald one here! Do you comprehend?!'

Suddenly Goku's large hand landed on her shoulders —a secret message of reassurance.  
'She will do it Sir. I will see to it.'

Kirillin scowled at Bulma. He wanted her to feel all his blame in his stare. She turned her head in defiance, and was secretly grateful that humans were not telepathic. _He'll get over it,_ she reassured herself.

The small beeps sounded from the control panel.

'Ok guys time to board!'

'I will be the one giving the orders woman!' Vegeta spat.  
A pregnant five second pause followed.

He dramatically cleared his throat and repeated the order.

The group's steps echoed off the empty corridor. Darkness surrounded them, a smell of rusty metal wafted in the air upon boarding. A small amount of illumination was created by the torches on the Saiyans' scouters, but whatever was not in their direct field of vision, was masked by obscurity. This reminded Bulma of some cheesy horror film, she had seen with Yamcha when they were teenagers. She was convinced a _jump scare_ was going to happen at any moment. Like a magnet, her arms quickly clung to Goku's, then she snapped over to Krillin upon remembering the roles they were playing in this farce.

The group came to a halt, the Saiyans had seen something. A large symbol clumsily painted in orange. It was a semi circle with no line of symmetry, and the right end, diverged into a diagonal line that cut straight through the centre.  
'Case closed; it was the work of Ghurdi pirates.' Raditz touched the dried paint.  
The tip of Vegeta's tail flicked, in his pensive state, he recalled the suspicion of his father,' I want to see more.'The Prince opened a nearby access panel, embedded in the side of the wall.  
'Blasted thing is broken!' He snarled, as his fist dented the wall.  
He paused and a sinister smile crept across his face. Raditz had not seen that expression since their mission on the moons of Minrhyd. A devious act always followed that face.

'Why, it so happens have the Earth's greatest engineer here to fix it.' Vegeta looked at Bulma. The Prince was fully aware that the system was beyond repair, but it was his vindictive nature that wanted her to fail. This task would be the perfect opportunity to help erode her spirit.  
She swallowed, 'No problem.'

He turned to his squadron, 'You will all search the ship. If you find anything that might be suspicious, contact me immediately.'  
Vegeta then cast his dark eyes at Krillin. 'Raditz, the bald earthling will accompany you.'  
They affirmed their orders and separated.

His attention returned to the woman. And so did his smile at the thought of her failure. He imagined her face of panic, apologising to him, her hair falling around her pale features as she bowed her head in defeat. It was titillating. He was greedy for this mischievous excitement, and why should he not plunge the knife in deep after what she did to him earlier?  
That's when Vegeta leaned in behind Bulma. His objective was to sound threatening; he would whisper sinister words quietly in her ear.

'If you are not able to fix this and and obtain the ships logs. I will obliterate your entire planet...'. There was a pause. At first it was for dramatic effect, but then it was out of curiosity. Her scent was faint, but he he wanted to smell it. '….With a single finger.' He continued, his voice becoming more breathless.

Vegeta had observed the subtle social gestures of these Saiyanoid-like creatures; without a tail, their emotions were more facial and corporal. He awaited her response. The Earthlings knew something. It would be up to him, Prince Vegeta, to squeeze it out them. Especially the woman, yes, he would have to squeeze her, as his gaze fell on her ample chest.

A strange heat was building up inside of Bulma as the General's tongue rolled on his words. She felt his presence awkwardly hover behind her, as if he were indecisive, almost confused. On Earth he would be a _creep_. _Of course he found her irresistible, what self respecting male wouldn't?_ But she wanted to play with the General too, he was by no means unattractive.

She tilted her body back and pressed it against his. He could feel her warmth, her shape pressing against his armour. The nape of her neck was touching his nose, the smell of her skin was now unavoidable. It ignited primitive feeling in him, a subconscious enjoyment in which he began to lose himself.

Her burst of laughter was sharp and juvenile, slicing through his trance. In a split second, he had retreated to the other side of the corridor. Tension ran through his muscles, his shoulders were large, and his tail although loose around his waist was puffed. He growled under his breath, and began to march into the main rooms of the ship.

That impudent wench was mocking him. A storm of contempt was whirling his thoughts into a frenzy. It was a melange of his own embarrassment and shame, directed at his lack of professionalism, his lack of sheer propriety and how he had allowed a mere carnal desire strip him of his defences, lowering him to behaviour common among the lower classes. An incantation passed his lips; the woman will rue the day.

Bulma watched the small Saiyan, leave in ire. She giggled into her palm about his overly dramatic reactions. The sound of her battery pack starting up reminded her that there was a job to be done. She cracked her knuckles; It was time to make this baby _purr_.

The foot steps of the explorers echoed throughout the and Krillin entered through the the first door on the corridor.  
'Ok, so if I remember the schematics of these vessels...' Raditz begun, when talking about ships he suddenly became far more eloquent. 'The majority of these rooms are for storage. My scouter isn't picking up any large power levels...So the crew must be-'  
'Toast.' Krillin interrupted, as before him laid mutilated bodies of what appeared to be scaled bipeds.  
Raditz touched his scouter, 'General Daiko we have found the Mordaxi members of the crew'. He nodded, 'Affirmative'.  
'Earthling, you will rendezvous with Kakrott in the next storage room.'  
'But I can't see.'  
Raditz rolled his eyes. He walked over to the charred remains, patting them with his foot and then grabbing something from their remains. Krillin began to retch. The Saiyan snapped the device and began to shake it. An aura of pink light was emitted from his hand. He launched it at Krillin, who was reluctant to catch something that came from a dead alien.  
'Now go on.' Raditz pointed towards the next door.  
'But this...' said Krillin with a look of disbelief at the object, '...this is a glow stick.'  
'No, it's a Mordaxi illumination device.'  
Krillin started to leave, 'well then, these Mordaxi must go to a lot of raves, using their glow sticks! Because that's what it is.' He muttered under his breath, as he began to imitate the sound of techno music and wave his light. Yet, once Raditz was out of sight, the monk realised he was completely alone. A peculiar fear began to rise in the back of his mind, that perhaps some unknown creature was still on the ship. Krillin composed himself, and concentrated on Goku's ki. That was his target as he crossed through darkness, and into the other storage room.

Goku greeted him cheerily; however, the strange feeling did not subside.  
'Goku I think we should leave this place asap.'  
'Ah, you feel it too huh? Don't worry that will go when Bulma get's the lights.'  
'Well ok.' He sighed, despite his best friend's confidence, Krillin was still anxious.

Goku placed his hands in a pondering motion, 'The most expensive cargo has been left.'  
Krillin looked at the empty crates labelled Briath stones.  
'Saiyans don't care about diamonds?'  
'Not really, those are used for energy purposes, but look here-' He pointed to an abundance of crates, all stocked full of round vials containing blue liquid.  
'I'm not sure about the other jewellery but the wine – that Mordaxi stuff sells for millions! Every pirate would know that. I better tell my brother.'

Raditz stood over the bodies of the Mordaxi. They looked horrific and quasi decayed. The odour of rotting flesh was beginning to permeate the air. He heard the boots of another slapping the ground. Vegeta peered his eyes at the sight, and folded his arms.

'Have we located the remains of the Saiyans stationed aboard?'  
'No Sir.'  
He continued to stare at the mess and began to inspect the bodies, the lack of light made the scene look more horrific. The smallest Saiyan looked apathetic.

'Was this really the work of Ghurdi pirates?' Vegeta questioned.  
'Well yeah – they left their symbol everywhere... almost like they wanted us to find it.'  
'So you have finally realized that they may be exaggerating, their presence. It is most suspicious, Private.'  
Vegeta moved his hands over the Mordaxi, he traced his hands over the wounds.  
'Someone had to decrease their power level to do this. They wanted to make a spectacle out of the bodies. We all know the Ghurdi are incredibly weak and cowardly-'  
Suddenly the lights came, illuminating the whole ship. Vegeta furrowed his brow, annoyed at the woman for interrupting his train of thought. The symbol behind the remains was clear now, a duplicate of the one in the corridor.  
'There were two Saiyan elites aboard.' He gestured to the room. 'Why is there no sign of a scuffle on the ship?'  
'A Ghurdi boarding party would be no match for one Saiyan!' Raditz shouted.  
'Exactly!' Vegeta continued. Suddenly Raditz scouter beeped.  
'Sir. My brother has found something.'  
'Get the woman to check when the Saiyan officers updated their last log and when the warning alarm was triggered.'  
'Yes Sir.'  
Vegeta looked on at the bodies, feeling like a cog in the machine.

Raditz tapped Bulma lightly on the shoulder.  
'Well would you look at that! You did it!'  
'Yeah it was nothing,' she giggled. Her confidence was masking that she had seen this technology before, but _General_ didn't have to know that.  
'Have you been able to access the ships records?' Raditz asked, hunching over to see the cables connected to Bulma's small energy device.

'Yeah, I think I have recovered most of it. Can I borrow your scouter?' She said absent-mindedly, whilst monitoring the energy output levels.  
Raditz was hesitant at first.  
'I won't be able to do this without a translation device.'  
'Oh ok.' He unhooked it from his ear, a softly threw it in to Bulma's lap.  
She began tapping on the access panel.  
'Hmm so it says there were delivering goods from Mordax-sei to Vegeta-sei. The last entry was made by the Saiyan Private Cabba.'

Raditz's face creased with familiarity and warmth, 'Oh Cabba – I knew him. He was a recent recruit. He was quite strong, his power level was good too. Top of the class, got to be stationed under Prince Vegeta for a mission because of it.'  
'Really?' Bulma looked up from her work, she was curious when it came to the Prince. Any images of the royal family were not on the database. She always wondered if he were handsome, or incredibly tall and well built like most Saiyans. Goku had always spoke warmly of him, but Goku spoke that way about everyone. So when another opinion could be given on the Prince, she wanted to hear it.  
'Yeah, the kid idolised him. Not sure why.' Raditz whispered.  
Her urge to inquire about the Prince's marital status decreased.

'If he's anything like the General?'

If Bulma had not began to look at the panel again, she would have seen a very awkward looking Raditz.  
'No.' He responded bluntly.  
'Who was the other Officer?' He asked, trying to change the subject.  
'His name was Captain Kuucom-'  
'You would have known that, if you had read the mission brief.' The small Saiyan interrupted.  
'Sir.'  
Bulma turned away from the panel, Raditz's scouter framed her feminine features.  
Suddenly, Raditz felt himself being yanked down by the scruff of his neck. 'You idiot! One thing I will not tolerate is insubordination. Do you know what secrets she could be stealing?!'  
'Do you want to hear the log?'. Bulma interrupted, appearing undaunted by the outburst of aggressive behaviour.  
She looked up at the General with her large eyes, and continued, 'You asked me access the logs, my power supply is barely holding this ship's computer together. I needed the scouter, Raditz only did it for the good of the mission.'  
'Fine.' Vegeta conceded with a sigh, not before throwing Raditz across the corridor.  
'Go see your buffoon of a brother! And you, Woman, the log.'  
'You know, people would want to do things for you, if you were polite to them.'  
'I don't need your advice.' He turned away from her and clicked his tongue.  
'Sure.' She chimed. 'Ah Here it is: "Second lunar cycle of Bolle, Private Cabba updating the ship's log. We are a lunar cycle away from home now. So far the transportation has been uneventful. After a brief refuelling at Tocon IV, we have continued on our journey. Captain Kuucum is retiring to his quarters and I will continue on the bridge." Hmm, the computer says the warning signal wasn't turned on at all.'

'Let's go Woman, we are heading to the bridge.' There was no hesitation. He grabbed her by the arm, and lead her through a system of corridors and stairs, until they arrived at the bridge.

Bulma was instantly fixated upon the control panel, and looked out the large viewing window. It was a small area for such a large ship, the space only allowed for two pilots and a captain. It looked immaculate, as if the Saiyan crew members had just dissolved into thin air.

'There's no sign of a battle, and the only sign of life form I can pick up is you.' Vegeta paused. 'Why this ship?'

He turned to Bulma, whose face was wrinkled in scrutiny. 'General Daiko, I think you should have a look at this.'  
The side of the chair had been slightly charred, and on the back was a strange dry purple residue.  
Vegeta touched it with his gloved hand, and rubbed it between his fingers.  
'Do you know what this is?'  
Bulma shook her head. A small scratching noise was heard, as she tried to get some of the fragments of the mysterious substance into a test tube.  
'No. I might be able to run some tests for you, but I would need a fresh sample and my lab on Earth. Unless the Saiyan military would like to finance my research.' She raised an eyebrow teasingly and Vegeta smirked. He touched his scouter.

'Raditz record what we have seen today, and when you have signal send out an order to get this vessel returned to Planet Vegeta. Kakarot and the human will secure the cargo. When we are back on the Earthling's ship, I want you Raditz to give the woman the quadrants to Gamla Boriec. I will give you all another briefing, as I am now upgrading this mission to Elite status. If whoever is behind this, thinks they can challenge the Saiyan Empire, well, they will have to pay the price. Over.'

-

Hello everyone, thank you for reading. I'm really sorry I can't get the chapters out as quickly as I would like. I work full time and am currently trying to get my life together. But I hope you've enjoyed the most recent chapter, as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I am still looking for a Beta reader, so If you would like to do it, please drop me a message. (I'm dyslexic, so another pair of eyes would be wonderful).

Thanks again.


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